The rival Taliban groups, led by Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour and Mullah Mohammad Rasool have agreed on ceasefire and exchange of prisoners.

Two senior Taliban have told Reuters news agency that representatives of a splinter group headed by Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund calling itself the ulema, which rejects Mansour’s authority, travelled to an undisclosed location to meet the exiled insurgency leadership headed by Mansour on Friday.

“We agreed on ceasefire and prisoners’ swap, but the ulema were not given access to Mansour,” Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, Rasool’s deputy, told Reuters by telephone.

According to Reuters, Niazi said the delegation was only able to meet Mansour’s deputy, Haibatullah Akhund, who told the representatives that from now on, Mullah Mansour would not meet people because of security issues.

Niazi believes that Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Manour is dead that is why the delegation was not able to meet him.

“Like many other people, we also believe that Mullah Mansour is dead and that’s why his deputy ‎Sheikh Haibatullah refused access to the ulema council to him,” Niazi told Reuters.

In December 2015, spokesperson for the first-Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum said the Supreme Leader of Taliban sustained injuries after another commander of the militant group namely Mullah Abdullah Sarhadi opened fire on him in Kuchlakh area which is 25 kilometers from Quetta, capital of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.

Sultan Faizy had also said that that Mullah Akhtar Mansour was then admitted to hospital and that five of his men were killed in the same clash.

Meanwhile, the dissident group of Taliban being led by Mullah Mohammad Rasoul claimed that Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in the clash.

But after a few days, Taliban released an audio message attributed to Mullah Akhtar Mansour rejected the report of his injuries or death.

“There is no truth in the rumors that I was either injured or killed in the infighting at Pakistan’s Kuchlak area,” said speaker of the message identifying himself as Mullah Mansoor.

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/4586

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